Cupcake Countenance: Authority

(Editor’s note: This article is long, but that’s because it was a long time coming.) Kim Gottschild is one of Burnside’s Managing Editors. A middle school German teacher, she resides with her spouse, their two daughters, and their two rescue dogs in Carmel “By the Corn,” Indiana. ...

August 13th, 2012 | Cupcake Countenance | Read More

Cupcake Countenance: Overture

“Dad, I’ve a strange habit,” I confess. “Yeah, what’s that?” “We-ell,” I begin cautiously, “I can’t leave the house without checking to make sure the gas stove is off. Sometimes I check it and re-check it five times before I leave. Or I’ll come back in the house a couple of...

December 6th, 2011 | Cupcake Countenance, Featured | Read More

Cupcake Countenance: Desire

After school lets out for the summer, the girls and I speed through neighboring Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, approaching both our Myrtle Beach vacation and Christihimmelfahrt, or Ascension Day, per my twentieth century Filofax calendar. A software project deadline has prevented Bjoern from travelling...

November 2nd, 2011 | Columns, Cupcake Countenance | Read More

Cupcake Countenance: Faith

“Mom, I just can’t wait any longer. I need this gerbil!” Ella is staring me down determinedly from the kitchen table with narrowed eyes, munching on her after school snack. As I proceed to empty the dishwasher, inaugurating my so-called second shift, I groan inwardly. I don’t want a rodent...

August 4th, 2011 | Columns, Cupcake Countenance, Featured | Read More

Cupcake Countenance: Presence

Caveat: As a novice 7th grade tuba player, I sputtered many disturbing gastrointestinal-like noises, so what I’m about to say is meant in the most loving way possible. When Ella brought her violin home last summer, it was like she had a new pet squirrel. A diurnal creature, it proceeded to squeak...

May 25th, 2011 | Columns, Cupcake Countenance, Featured | Read More

Cupcake Countenance: A Brief Interlude

(Editor’s Note: If you’re new to the column, be sure to catch up on all things cupcakey here!) I’m somewhat irritated at present. Hey, that’s an authentic, actual condition! That’s my current state! Not the one I was going for, but honest, nonetheless. Maybe recognizing and acknowledging...

April 25th, 2011 | Columns, Cupcake Countenance, Featured | Read More

Cupcake Countenance: Worry

(Editor’s note: For those new to the column, be sure to read the original Cupcake Countenance article here, then get caught up on all things cupcakey here.) “What are we doing today? Are we just doing streaks and a trim?” Having been two months since my last appointment, I was waking up and...

March 22nd, 2011 | Columns, Cupcake Countenance, Featured | Read More

Cupcake Countenance: Regret

(Editor’s note: For those new to the column, be sure to read the original Cupcake Countenance article here, then get caught up on all things cupcakey here.) “Katherine, I just wonder if I should have done that differently, parenting the girls. I should have used a time out method when they...

March 2nd, 2011 | Columns, Cupcake Countenance | Read More

Cupcake Countenance: Responsibility

I used to be really mad at Eve. Like, really furious with her. And I was going to write an entire book about it. Entitled, Letters to Eve, I was going to give her a piece of my mind and let her know just how badly she screwed things up. It was going to go something like this: Dear Eve, I hate you....

February 14th, 2011 | Columns, Cupcake Countenance, Featured | Read More

Cupcake Countenance

Since the arctic air-conditioning at Urban Outfitters had sent me seeking warmer air on the Chicago streets, I was standing at the corner of Rush and East Walton, just outside the hipster store adjacent to American Apparel. Don’t let that fool you into you thinking I am actually young and hip enough...

January 31st, 2011 | Columns, Cupcake Countenance, Essays, Featured | Read More